iPhone 6s vs. Samsung Galaxy S6: Apple and Android Face Off

By
PC Mag ME TeamSept. 13, 2015, 11 a.m.

Apple and Samsung are now neck and neck, at least in terms of having flagship smartphonesthat offer a combination of powerful hardware and compelling software. When we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6, both devices were Editors' Choice winners.

With their glass-and-metal designs, the iPhone 6s and Samsung Galaxy S6 are both attractive devices, even if the iPhone 6s looks exactly the same as its predecessor aside from a rose gold metallic finish color option.

The dimensions of the iPhone 6s are 5.44 by 2.64 by 0.28 inches (HWD) with a weight of 5.04 ounces. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a bit bigger with dimensions of 5.65 by 2.78 by 0.2 inches (HWD), but it's lighter at 4.87 ounces and slightly thinner.

When it comes to display quality, the Galaxy S6 is the clear winner. The device has a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and sports a resolution of 2,560 by 1,440 and 577ppi. That doesn't mean the iPhone 6s display is bad—the 4.7-inch Retina HD display with a 1,334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326ppi is better than the one found on the iPhone 6. However, the raw pixel density of the Galaxy S6 can't be matched and Samsung excels in creating gorgeous displays.

The big new feature that Apple has brought with the iPhone 6s is 3D Touch. The feature builds on multi-touch by allowing the iPhone 6s to recognize force and carry out actions like Peek and Pop to preview content. Quick Actions provide shortcuts to basic functions like messaging a contact or launching the camera. Some aspects of this functionality can be replicated on the Galaxy S6 using apps like Link Bubble, Cover, or Samsung's own double-press of the home button to launch the camera, but overall 3D Touch is unique and intriguing feature for the iPhone 6s.

In regards to the camera, the iPhone 6s has a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture, True Tone flash, and 4K video recording, as well as a 5-megapixel, front-facing selfie camera. The Samsung Galaxy S6 has more raw megapixels in its rear-facing camera—16 megapixels with optical image stabilization to Apple's 12 megapixels—but there's little doubt that Apple puts some of the best-optimized camera sensors on its devices with excellent post-processing. Samsung has caught up lately, and the Samsung Galaxy S6 camera is fast and crisp, but the improvements to the iPhone 6s are likely to push it over the edge.

All the other big changes to the iPhone 6s are under the hood. The device runs a 64-bit Apple A9 processor, while the S6 has Samsung's 64-bit Exynos 7420 chipset. Without knowing the clock speed of the A9 or having the device in hand, it's hard to make any judgment about the chipset. If Apple is to believe, the A9 chip will also boost the ability of the iPhone 6s to play graphically intensive games. Overall, we expect the Samsung Galaxy S6 to do better with benchmarks but the iPhone 6s to hold its own in terms of performance.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 has 3GB of RAM, compared with the 1GB that the iPhone 6s is likely to have. There was no mention of a RAM increase in either the Apple event or the press release, so our money is on it being the same as the iPhone 6. The iPhone 6s launch with iOS 9, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 has Android 5.1 Lollipop with TouchWiz running on top.

That doesn't mean much given how well Apple optimizes iOS to run with its hardware. The same hasn't always been true for TouchWiz on Samsung though the Samsung Galaxy S6 runs smoother than any of its predecessors. In all other regards, the two devices have similar features and functions, like Touch ID to Samsung's fingerprint sensor and Apple Pay to Samsung Pay.

When it comes down to it, both devices are the best flagships in their respective ecosystems. Once we get the iPhone 6s, expect a full review by PC Labs.